vitiate
verb
William Styron
Did you know?
If you’re itching to find fault with the word vitiate, you don’t have to look far—the word comes ultimately from the Latin noun vitium, which refers to a fault, vice, shortcoming, or impediment to success or perfection. Accordingly, vitiate—like its fellow vitium-descended v-words vituperate ("to use harsh, condemning language"), vicious, and vice—has a negative bent. To vitiate something is, essentially, to mar or damage it in some way, whether by ruining or spoiling it ("a joke vitiated by poor timing"), corrupting it morally ("a mind vitiated by prejudice"), or rendering it null or ineffective ("fraud that vitiates a contract"). Despite its versatility, vitiate is most effective when used in formal speech and writing; that is to say, those who drop it into a construction like "a sandwich vitiated by too much peanut butter" may find themselves subject to some mild vituperation.
Examples of vitiate in a Sentence
Literary Hub, 26 June 2025
The 2017 tax bill was a significant reform, and Republicans should avoid, to the extent possible, vitiating it with political catnip like no taxes on tips and other random Trump inspirations.
—The Editors, National Review, 12 May 2025
Just as Sadat’s Jerusalem journey shocked the Carter administration out of its misguided approach, a public rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia may be the only move that could both mitigate and possibly even vitiate U.S.-Iranian negotiations.
—Gabriel Scheinmann, Foreign Affairs, 17 May 2015
Obviously this does not vitiate the whole enterprise of poetry.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for vitiate
Cite this Entry
“Vitiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vitiate. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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vitiate
verb
Legal Definition
vitiate
transitive verb
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